The Zonal Coordinator for the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion Project (SOCO), in charge of 21 districts in the Upper East and North East Regions, Samuel Larbi Agyarko, has said a total of 211 physical projects were begun under phase one of the project in the Upper East Region, while 52 were begun in the North East Region.
A total of 72 projects have been completed under phase one of the project in the Upper East Region as of last month.
In the North East Region, more than 20 of such projects have been completed across the 6 districts of the region within the same period.
Additionally, about 600 Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLA) have been supported nationally, with about 300 of the stated groups being in the Upper East Region.
Mr. Agyarko said this when he spoke to Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show.
He added that some youth activities have also been supported through the project.
“About 6 intercluster sports, cultural dances, youth engagements, youth parliaments, youth sensitization have been carried out. A lot of youth are in the know when it comes to SOCO and what it intends to do. We have also employed community facilitators. They are the liaison between the community and the assemblies,” he said.
For projects that have yet to be completed under phase one, Mr. Agyarko said contractors have been given until the end of June to finish the projects. Failure to do so could mean the termination of the projects and their disqualification from subsequent projects under SOCO.
The project is contributing to the prevention of conflict spillover from the Sahelian countries by improving the social and economic resilience of the targeted Northern Regions in the Gulf of Guinea countries (Ghana, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo).
In Ghana, the SOCO Project is being implemented in six (6) regions in the northern parts of Ghana – namely the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, North East, Savannah, and Oti Regions. Forty-eight (48) MMDAs are benefitting from the project.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Bolgatanga|
